Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore multiple factors affecting online library resource selection by undergraduate students. Three dimensions of factors are investigated including usefulness and ease-of-use, resource quality, and individual differences. Design/methodology/approach – An instrument was developed to measure various aspect factors and online library resource use intention. A survey was administered to 332 undergraduate students. Quantitative analysis, including structural equation modeling, ANOVA, and t-tests, was used to statistically examine the effects of the identified 11 factors on the use intention of online library resources. Findings – The findings indicated that both usefulness and ease-of-use positively influenced the undergraduates’ use intention of online library resources. Also, five resource quality constructs – accessibility, credibility, coverage, currency, and format – were the determinants of online library resources use intention. Interestingly, the effect of a...

Factors affecting undergraduates’ selection of online library resources in academic tasks: Usefulness, ease-of-use, resource quality, and individual differences

This study examines the information-seeking behavior of undergraduate students within a research context. Student searches were recorded while the participants used Google and a library (federated) search tool to find sources (one book, two articles, and one other source of their choosing) for a selected topic. The undergraduates in this study believed themselves to be skilled researchers, but their search queries and behaviors did not support this belief. Students did not examine their topics to identify keywords and related terms. They relied heavily on the language presented to them via the list of research topics and performed natural language or simple keyword or phrase queries. They did not reformulate or refine their research questions or search queries, did not move beyond the first page of results, and did not examine metadata to improve searches. When using Google, students frequently visited commercial sites such as Amazon; content farms such as About.com; and subscription databases such as JSTOR. This study concludes by offering suggestions for search interface improvement and pedagogical opportunities on which librarians may wish to focus or refocus. This article is the second in a series that examines student use of Google and a library (federated) search tool.

https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1081&context=bc_pubs

Google vs. the Library (Part II): Student Search Patterns and Behaviors When Using Google and a Federated Search Tool.

Purpose – This paper aims to determine the current usage of next generation online public access catalogs (OPACs) and discovery tools in academic libraries in the USA and Canada.Design/methodology/approach – Using the same random sample of 260 colleges and universities in the USA and Canada from their original study, the authors revisited each institution's library web page to ascertain whether the OPAC interface(s) offered were the same or different than in their initial data collection. Data was collected and analyzed in October and November 2011.Findings – Discovery tool use has practically doubled in the last two years, from 16 percent to 29 percent. A total of 96 percent of academic libraries using discovery tools still provide access to their legacy catalog. The percentage of institutions using ILS OPACs with faceted navigation has increased from 2 percent to 4 percent. Combining the use of discovery tools and faceted OPACs, at least 33 percent of academic libraries are now using a faceted interface...

“Discovering” what's changed: a revisit of the OPACs of 260 academic libraries

Objectives - To evaluate and compare the results produced by Summon and EBSCO Discovery
Service (EDS) for the types of searches typically performed by library users at North Carolina State University. Also, to compare the performance of these products to Google Scholar for the same types of searches.

Methods - A study was conducted to compare the search performance of two web-scale discovery services: ProQuest’s Summon and EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS). The performance of these services was also compared to Google Scholar. A sample of 183 actual user searches, randomly selected from the NCSU Libraries’ 2013 Summon search logs, was used for the study. For each query, searches were performed in Summon, EDS, and Google Scholar. The results of known-item searches were compared for retrieval of the known item, and the top ten results of topical searches were compared for the number of relevant results.

Results - There was no significant difference in the results between Summon and EDS for either known-item or topical searches. There was also no significant difference between the performance of the two discovery services and Google Scholar for known-item searches. However, Google Scholar outperformed both discovery services for topical searches.

Conclusions - There was no significant difference in the relevance of search results between Summon and EDS. Thus, any decision to purchase one of those products over the other should be based upon other considerations (e.g., technical issues, cost, customer service, or user interface).

/pdf/summon-ebsco-discovery-service-and-google-scholar-a-1vk7ujqbu3.pdf

Summon, EBSCO Discovery Service, and Google Scholar: A Comparison of Search Performance Using User Queries

Web-scale discovery systems are gaining momentum among academic libraries as libraries seek a means to provide their users with a one-stop searching experience. Illinois State University's Milner Library found itself in the unique position of having access to two distinct discovery products, EBSCO Discovery Service and Serials Solutions’ Summon. Two researchers at Milner conducted a usability study for the former product in 2010, and now two other researchers, including one involved with the EBSCO Discovery Service study, have conducted the same study on the latter product. The goals of the study were twofold: first, to identify user behavior while using discovery systems’ search features and to see whether using these features would improve the user's searching experience, and second, to compare user experiences with EBSCO Discovery Service and Summon at Illinois State University. The similarities and differences in user expectations, use, manipulation, and satisfaction with both discovery tools are expl...

A Tale of Two Discoveries: Comparing the Usability of Summon and EBSCO Discovery Service

The literature shows that students are more likely to begin their search via Google, as it is perceived to be easier and more accessible than other databases or publisher platforms. The invisible web, specifically publisher platforms, is sometimes too difficult for students to access; there are also suggestions that Google Scholar in particular may outperform other paid-for databases. The ease of access and the somewhat misguided notion that Google Scholar has more reliable information than that provided by libraries makes search engines all the more attractive. This culture of searching using a single search box is reflected in the increase in the number of libraries opting for single resource discovery systems such as Summon or Primo, which use a single search covering all the library holdings. The findings suggest that whilst Google Scholar can perform well in some circumstances, it performed only moderately well when compared with LISTA and Summon – the single resource discovery system tested. It was ...

Helen Timpson

Papers

A Student Perspective on e-Resource Discovery: Has the Google Factor Changed Publisher Platform Searching Forever?